"All the affairs of men should be managed by individuals or voluntary associations, and . . . the State should be abolished." —Benjamin Tucker

"You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself." —James Madison

"Fat chance." —Sheldon Richman

Available Now! (click cover)

America's Counter-Revolution

The Constitution Revisited

From the back cover:

This book challenges the assumption that the Constitution was a landmark in the struggle for liberty. Instead, Sheldon Richman argues, it was the product of a counter-revolution, a setback for the radicalism represented by America’s break with the British empire. Drawing on careful, credible historical scholarship and contemporary political analysis, Richman suggests that this counter-revolution was the work of conservatives who sought a nation of “power, consequence, and grandeur.” America’s Counter-Revolution makes a persuasive case that the Constitution was a victory not for liberty but for the agendas and interests of a militaristic, aristocratic, privilege-seeking ruling class.

Wednesday, April 08, 2015

To get a sense of how badly the regime in Iran wants sanctions relief for the Iranian people, you have to do more than contemplate the major concessions it has made in negotiations with the United States and the rest of the P5+1. Not only is Iran willing to dismantle a major part of its peaceful civilian nuclear program, to submit to the most intrusive inspects, to redesign a reactor, to eliminate two-thirds of its centrifuges, to get rid of much of its enriched uranium, and to limit nuclear research -- it must do all this while being harangued by the nuclear monopolist of the Middle East -- Israel -- which remains, unlike Iran, a nonsigner of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and faces no inspections or limits on its production of nuclear weapons.

This is something out of Alice in Wonderland. The Islamic Republic of Iran, born in 1979, has not attacked another country. (With U.S. help, Iraq attacked Iran in 1980.) In contrast, Israel has attacked its Arab neighbors several times its founding, including two devastating invasions and a long occupation of Lebanon, not to mention repeated onslaughts in the Gaza Strip and the military occupation of the West Bank. Israel has also repeatedly threatened war against Iran and engaged in covert and proxy warfare, including the assassination of scientists. Even with Iran progressing toward a nuclear agreement, Israel (like the United States) continues to threaten Iran.

Yet Iran is universally cast as the villain (with scant evidence) and Israel the vulnerable victim.

You’d never know that Iran favors turning the Middle East into a weapons-of-mass-destruction-free zone (a nuclear-weapons-free zone was first proposed by the U.S.-allied shah of Iran and Egypt in 1974), and beyond that, Iran over a decade ago offered a “grand bargain” that contained provisions to reassure the world about its nuclear program and an offer to recognize Israel, specifically, acceptance of the Arab League’s 2002 peace initiative. The George W. Bush administration rebuffed Iran.

At the last NPT review conference in 2010, Iran renewed its support for the zone, the BBC reported at the time: “Tehran supports the ‘immediate and unconditional’ implementation of the 1995 resolution [to create the zone], declares the [then] president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.” (Iran also favors global nuclear disarmament.)

The United States and Israel claim in principle to support having the Middle East free of nuclear weapons -- but not just yet. The Israeli government said in 2010 that implementation of the principle could occur “only after peace agreements with all the countries in the region.” ABC News quoted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying that Israel might sign the NPT “if the Middle East one day advances to a messianic age where the lion lies down with the lambs.”

That is classic Netanyahu demagoguery. As noted, the Arab League in 2002 -- and again in 2007 -- offered to recognize Israel if it accepted a Palestinian state in the occupied territories and arrived at a “just solution to the Palestinian Refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194.” At that point the Arab countries would “consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region”; i.e., they would “establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace.”

Thus Netanyahu’s position is a sham. He could have peace treaties in short order if he wanted to. But, as he said before the recent elections, he will never allow the Palestinians to have their own country.

For its part, the United States “broadly agrees with Israel that conditions for a nuclear-weapons-free-zone do not yet exist in the Middle East,” the BBC reported. In other words, the Obama administration slavishly takes the Israel-AIPAC line.

While politicians and pundits lose sleep over an Iranian nuclear-weapons program that does not exist -- are they having nightmares of the United States being deterred by Iran? -- they support Israel, the nuclear power that brutalizes a captive population, attacks its neighbors, threatens war against Iran, and refuses to talk peace with willing partners.

5 comments:

richard vajs
said...

Liked your article. Of course, Israel is the problem in the Mideast. But the problem will solve itself - no decent people will want to be Israelis - racist thugs like Netanyahu or Liebermann yes, but decent people, no. Your site is LEFT Libertarian? - I want to subscribe. I love libertarian ideals; I left the Libertarian Party when the rightwing, economic liberty only crowd took over the Libertarian Party (the little Koch Brother fans). I had given up on the Libertrarians.

The clear difference is the people not the government(s). Most of the countries surrounding Isreal have said they will only be happy when Isreal ceases to exist and it's people exterminated. I believe Mr amenijad (the one with the difficult last name) even said something to that effect.

Isreal has been hated by the entire Islamic region since there creation. Actual peace will never happen as long as the imams are all preaching the destruction of Isreal and death to the jews.

Israel has 400+ NUKES --- REFUSES inspections ---- REFUSES to sign Non-ProliferationTreaty.Israel HATES Christianity & GENTILES and denies the Spiritual and Human EQUALITY of NONJews to Jews.Israel thinks GREATER ISRAEL should rule the World. "Greater Israel" is all land between the Nile and the Euphrates rivers, Syria, Jordan, most of Saudi Arabia. Greater Israel” requires the breaking up of the existing Arab states into small states. You can find maps they have drawn online. http://www.globalresearch.ca/greater-israel-the-zionist-plan-for-the-middle-east/5324815 Did you know what the two blue bands on their flag stand for? The Nile and the Euphrates. Yes, it's true.Israel (using the USA) is spreading chaos and fracturing all Civilization in the Peoples immediately around it.Israel has "DUAL-citizens"(sayanim) whose true loyalty is to Israel, embedded throughout American government/society. According to the Zionist creed, Israel is the state of the Jews, all the Jews. Every Jew in the world belongs to Israel, even if temporarily residing somewhere else If Israel could provoke nuclear apocalypse between America&Russia .....and China ..... BY WAY OF DECEPTION.... Israel would be the ONLY NUCLEAR ARMED SUPERPOWER left......... Especially if it SNEAK nuked many of It's HATED/HISTORICAL "enemies" While they are bombing each other.(Germany, Poland, England, Egypt, Iraq, basically ALL gentiles should "bear the YOKE of Israel")Noted Israeli military historian Martin Karfeld stated that Israel could find itself one day forced to exterminate the European continent using all kinds of weapons including its nuclear arsenal if it felt its demise neared, stressing that Israel also considers Europe a hostile target.Does Israel have nuclear missiles aimed at the main world capitals?? -- You bet.Israel BRAGS about doing similar in Persia/Iran (75,000dead) Egypt(all the FIRST BORN CHILDREN)David Ben-Gurion, one of the father founders of Israel, described Zionist aims in 1948: "A Christian state should be established [in Lebanon], with its southern border on the Litani river. We will make an alliance with it. When we smash the Arab Legion's strength and bomb Amman, we will eliminate Transjordan too, and then Syria will fall. If Egypt still dares to fight on, we shall bomb Port Said, Alexandria and Cairo... And in this fashion, we will end the war and settle our forefathers' account with Egypt, Assyria, and Aram.............."and settle our forefathers' account with Egypt, Assyria, and Aram" They are STILL HATING and planning deadly attacks after 3,500+ YEARS .How do you think they feel about JESUS CHRIST whom they HATE most of ALL.Israel's MOTTOES: (1) NEVER forgive & NEVER forget.(2) By Way of Deception, Thou Shalt Do War.(3) Their "god" is a WAR god.......

Anonymous said: "Actual peace will never happen as long as the imams are all preaching the destruction of Isreal and death to the jews. "

Israelis consider non-Jews to be their slaves. They must be proud of you.

"Goyim were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world; only to serve the People of Israel. Why are gentiles needed? They will work, they will plow, they will reap. We will sit like an effendi and eat." -- Israeli Sephardic leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef

The Center for a Stateless Society

Recognize

I am a Palestinian.

HT: Roderick Long

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Unless otherwise noted, to the extent possible under law, Sheldon Richman has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to all original content on the Free Association blog, through the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. This work is published from: United States.

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“Logic and ethics are fundamentally the same, they are no more than duty to oneself.”